


The Chosen One

by katling



Series: Tony Stark Bingo [38]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Add everyone who was in the final battle, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, I recognise that the Russos made their decisions, I've elected to ignore them, JARVIS lives! - Freeform, Lots of people live!, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Team Tony, Tony Lives!, but given that they were stupid ass decisions, but most of them only have bit parts, or not compliant with the ending anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28589391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: The Infinity Stones end up in the possession of the one man who would really rather not have to use them. They find that surprisingly refreshing and make some decisions. Tony just has to deal.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1270763
Comments: 56
Kudos: 1146
Collections: Team Iron Man/Anti Steve, Tony Stark Bingo Mark IV, Tony Stark deserves more





	The Chosen One

**Author's Note:**

> The thing I like about the fact that Stephen Strange never actually articulates what the one ending where they won was, is that you can then make the ending anything you like. :D

The chaos of the battlefield faded as Tony grappled with Thanos. He knew he didn’t need to hang on for long, just long enough to allow the nanites to do their job, sliding between the Infinity Stones and the gauntlet and transferring them over. It was only when he got the tiny ping that told him they’d been successful that he stopped struggling long enough for Thanos to hurl him away.

The landing hurt but he ignored it. He’d been hurt far worse than that and now he had to face the worst thing in his life. He knew he wasn’t going to survive. He’d seen what had happened to Bruce and his science bro had his bastardised version of the serum to protect him. Simple, human Tony was never going to survive this. It made his heart ache and he wanted to scream something to the uncaring universe about leaving his family and friends behind but what could he do? Thanos had to be stopped.

He saw the moment Thanos realised that the Stones were no longer in the gauntlet and turned to look at him as he kneeled in the wreckage. He raised his hand, showing off the Stones as they moved into alignment in his own gauntlet but the moment he opened his mouth for his last pithy one liner, time froze and he found himself… somewhere. Or nowhere. It was empty, just nothing but grey stretching out all around him.

_What do you want from us?_ An angry, demanding voice echoed around this… nowhere, accompanied by a purple glow. _What do you want?_

_They always want something._ This voice was snide and sly and came with a yellow glow.

_But it’s not always bad_ , a calm, almost meditative voice said with a green glow. _Sometimes very necessary._

Tony sucked in a breath as he realised who was speaking to him. He hadn’t known the Stones were sentient.

_We’re whatever people want us to be_ , said a shifty red toned voice. _Perception is always imperfect._

_Enough!_ The blue glow matched the one on his chest and Tony shuddered as he faced, as best as he could, the Infinity Stones.

_Tell us. Tell us what you want._ The voice that said this was kind and yet there was something that ran underneath that kindness that made Tony shiver. Or maybe it was the orange light that surrounded him that made him shiver.

“To keep people safe,” he said without thinking. “My family, my friends…” He gave a sharp laugh. “Hell, even my enemies.”

_You wish to kill_ , the yellow light sneered.

“No,” Tony said. “Not if I don’t have to. Can Thanos be stopped another way?”

He felt surprise from the entities that surrounded him and then they seemed to withdraw slightly, swirling around each other and, he was sure, communicating between themselves in some way. The returned a moment later, surrounding him again.

_And if we told you that Thanos could be safely contained, alive, at the cost of one life, what would you say?_ The green Time Stone sounded curious.

“I would say that I would pay that price,” Tony replied.

_You?_ Power said. _You would not ask another?_

Tony shook his head. “I couldn’t ask that of someone.”

_Not even Steven Rogers, the man who has hurt you the most?_ Mind asked, the vaguely female voice cynical. Tony thought it sounded a bit like Wanda. Or maybe Wanda sounded a bit like the Stone.

He dismissed that thought from his mind. “No.”

_See?_ Space said, sounding smugly pleased, and Tony blinked as he realised that Space sounded like a mix between Howard, himself and, of all people, Loki. _I told he would be worthy._

_Yes_ , Soul said, their orange glow spreading over the others. _He is. He is worthy and he is ours._

“Wait… what?” Tony began but before he could say anything more the colours of the Infinity Stones swirled around him and through him and _into_ him and everything went black.

When his eyes opened again, he was exactly where he’d been, kneeling in the wreckage, the Infinity Stones aligned on the nanite gauntlet built into his armour and his mouth still open for that pithy one liner. But there was no pain, no agony, no sense that he was going to die.

_You are not going to die._ The words felt orange.

_You are ours and we…_ It was blue and smug and full of the vastness of space. _We are yours._

“No,” Thanos whispered, as he realised that the Stones no longer answered to him, then he screamed, “NO!”

Tony slowly got to his feet, his right hand still raised, the Infinity Stones glowing. He felt tired, he ached and there was a low, intense pain in his chest that should have been disturbing. But he also felt powerful beyond all measure, as though with one word, he could rearrange the very fabric of the universe. Not that he wanted to. Why would he want to do that?

He felt the approval of the Infinity Stones at that last thought and he frowned.

_Why?_ He let the single word question sit in his mind as he stared at the despairing Titan.

_Because you are the only one who has claimed all of us who would rather not use us_ , Time whispered in the depths of his mind. _Thus, we know, I know, you will use us well._

Tony wasn’t sure what they meant but he raised his hand a fraction more and gave Thanos a weary, exhausted look as he very deliberately snapped his fingers. _Just… make him stop_ , he thought to the Stones.

He would admit to a certain amount of satisfaction as he watched Thanos and his minions fade away into dust in the same way that Peter had. Then his knees buckled and he slumped down to the ground.

_What now?_ he asked.

_You are our vessel_ , the stones said, he couldn’t decipher which one. It might well have been all of them. _We have chosen and thus it shall remain. But we must separate. It is our way._

_I will remain with my sorcerer_ , Time said smugly. _He will be mine for some time to come._

Tony snorted, wondering if Strange had any idea that he might be around for longer than he expected.

_No, he doesn’t_ , Time said with amusement. _But he’ll figure it out. He’s very clever._

_I need my chosen back_ , Space said, sounding disgruntled. _As does Power._

Soul sighed. _There are supposed to be rules._

_But we make those rules_ , Power countered. _And she’s not my Chosen. My Chosen needs her._

Soul sighed again. _Fine._

Tony suddenly knew what he needed to do. As he sat and his family gathered around him, staring at him in confusion and wonder, he raised his hand again and snapped one more time. The dust swirled not far away. In its wake, it left a rather startled Loki and Gamora.

“Brother!” Thor bellowed at the same time that Quill screamed, “Gamora!” The ensuing hugs were long and fervent and greeted with not-at-all sincere complaints from those being hugged.

“Tony?”

Tony looked up into Pepper’s eyes. In them, he saw worry and concern and love and trust and managed a small smile in return. He looked around and saw Strange watching him with a tiny, faint smile.

“Only one way, huh?” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Would you have believed me if I told you that the only way we could succeed was if you became the vessel for the Infinity Stones?” Strange said wryly. “Or would you have run screaming in the opposite direction and done everything you could to sabotage that?”

Tony gave a small breath of laughter. “Point taken. Hey. Got something for you.”

Strange raised an eyebrow then his eyes widened as the green Time Stone detached from the gauntlet and rose into the air. As it did, the Eye of Agamotto formed around it again and it floated over to the sorcerer. He held out his hands and it came to rest in them.

“Tony?” he said hesitantly.

“Still the vessel,” Tony replied. He could still feel the Time Stone within him even though it was now with Strange. “But they need to be separated. On that note…” He reached out and gave another of those small laughs as Pepper, Rhodey and Peter practically knocked each over as they rushed to help him. Once he was on his feet, he leaned into the three of them as he took a couple of steps towards the still hugging groups.

“Reindeer games?”

Thor slowly let Loki go and while Loki looked disgruntled as he straightened his clothes, Tony noted that he didn’t step away from his brother nor did he duck away from the hand Thor placed on his shoulder.

“Stark?” Loki said, arching an eyebrow.

“You have a new friend,” Tony said as the Space Stone detached and formed the tesseract around itself again. Tony took hold of the cube and held it out to the trickster.

Loki stared at him in shock then he reached out and rather gingerly took the tesseract. He seemed to commune with it for a moment then he smirked and tucked it away in what looked like his own personal dimension. He then gave a low bow and with no sign of mockery, he said, “Thank you.”

Tony gave him a wry look then turned to the Guardians. “Quill.”

Quill looked surprised and even turned to look behind him. “Me?” he finally said, pointing at his chest.

The Power Stone detached itself and floated over to Quill. “It’s yours,” Tony said. “Look after it.”

Quill’s eyes practically bugged out and he clasped his hands behind his back. “But I…”

“It’s chosen you,” Tony said, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him. “Protect it.” He paused as he heard a whisper from one of the other stones and then the Reality Stone also detached itself before coalescing into a large red crystal. “And take this back to the Collector.”

Quill very hesitantly reached out and took hold of the Power Stone, his eyes somehow going even wider when it simply settled calmly in his grip. The Guardians had all grasped his shoulders and arms and now they let go with looks of bewilderment. It was Groot who reached out and snagged the Reality Stone with one of his tendrils, overriding Rocket’s strangled shout.

Then the Soul Stone and Tony held it out to Gamora. “It says you know where it needs to go.”

There was a strangled noise from outside the little circle of Tony, his family, Strange and the Guardians and when Tony looked over, he saw Clint standing there with a bereft expression on his face. Tony twitched and closed his eyes.

_Natasha? And Vision?_

There was a moment of silence then a low, soft voice wafted over the now silent battlefield, accompanied by a pale orange light. “Her sacrifice was of the heart and truly meant, unlike Thanos. It must be honoured.”

Clint’s shoulders slumped and he bowed his head. 

The Mind Stone, the last of the Stones still attached to the gauntlet, now detached itself and floated into the air and around it reformed Vision. _What was can no longer be._ The voice echoed through their minds. _The binding threads are gone. But what was can be restored._

Tony wasn’t the only one who was frowning at those cryptic words as Vision straightened and looked around in confusion.

Wanda rushed forward then came to a halt as Vision stared at her blankly. “Viz?” she said hesitantly.

“I am afraid you have mistaken me for someone else,” Vision said and Tony suddenly gasped. No, not Vision.

“J… JARVIS?”

The newly embodied JARVIS turned and gave him an awkward smile. “Hello, sir. This is… odd.”

“NO!” Wanda screamed and a wave of red came flying at Tony. 

It never reached him. Before it could touch him, it simply dissipated into nothing. As did the second wave of red magic.

_Our vessel will not be harmed._

The voice or multitude of voices echoed in their heads and across the battlefield, making some people scream and clutch at their heads as others simply stood and listened. Pinpoints of colour, six of them, appeared and grew and then coalesced into a rainbow. They swirled around Tony for a moment then engulfed Wanda. There was a bright flash and when the light cleared, Wanda was gone.

“Wanda!”

Tony almost rolled his eyes at the anguished cry from Rogers, but he didn’t have to do anything else as that same multitude of voices spoke again.

_She is lost, a threat to all in this dimension and many others if she remains unchecked, whose powers cannot be removed without causing chaos. She has been sent to a new dimension where she may live in happiness._

For a brief moment, they all saw a vision of Wanda, happy and smiling as she sat next to Pietro in a Sokovia that had never suffered war and deprivation.

_She will not remember any of you_ , the voices continued. _It is kinder than she deserves but she will harm no one now._

Tony nodded as the voices faded and he let his armour withdraw back into the arc reactor. He didn’t need it anymore. He could still feel the Stones within him somehow, but they were quiescent and dormant now.

“Pep?” he said, looking over at his wife and smiling at her.

“Yes, Tony?” she said with a matching smile.

“Let’s go home. We’ve got a kiddo to hug.” He wrapped an arm around Peter. “And she needs to meet her big brother.”

Pepper’s laugh rang out, pure and bright among the wreckage, as she wrapped an arm around his waist. “That sounds perfect.”


End file.
